American Express Hong Kong Wine & Dine Month and Wine & Dine Festival 2013

Foodies alert!

If you are going for a holiday in November or looking for a culinary adventure, Hong Kong is the place to be.

I have some freebies available for readers with no strings attached, courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). Do read till the end of this post to find out more. 

The American Express Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival will return this year from 31 October to 3 November, providing visitors and local residents alike with a sumptuous food and wine experience.

Organised by the HKTB and title-sponsored by American Express for the fifth year running, the culinary bonanza will be held at the New Central Harbourfront – a brand new location for the event – giving rise to a new six-zone layout, as well as exciting elements, including the “Tasting Room”, in which exclusive wine talks will be held and delicacies created by top chefs for an international culinary competition will be served.

This year’s festival will include around 300 booths (210 for wine and 89 for food), offering wines from 16 countries and regions, as well as international cuisines. It will also feature the following new elements:

• Tasting Room: Tickets can be purchased in advance online. The following activities will be held in the area:
  1. Wine-appreciation classes and wine talks: a wine expert from Bordeaux will lead participants in tasting a selection of wines from the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. There will also be special talks on wine pairing with cheese and desserts.
  2. Wine-pairing dinner and lunch: Participants will get to taste dishes prepared by the Hong Kong Chefs Association from the menu for an international culinary competition, which will be paired with wines chosen by a sommelier at a dinner on 2 November, while a lunch will be served by an award-winning chef on 3 November. Each session will admit 100 participants.

• Six theme zones: The wine booths are organised into six zones – the “Riedel Grand Tasting Pavilion”, “Country Pavilion”, “A-Lister Zone”, “Discovery Zone”, “Party Wine Zone” and “Everyday Wine Zone” – according to the wines they offer. The HKTB invited a cast of seven sommeliers to select the wines showcased in each zone to ensure the wines’ quality and variety.

• Sunset Tasting with Wine Collectors: HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam, Legislative Council Member The Hon James Tien and former Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Henry Tang have each donated wine from their private collections to share with the first 120 participants who book the Grand Tasting Wine Passes (1 and 2 November) and the first 100 participants who book places for the “Wine Pairing Lunch” (3 November) via Cityline.

• Live performances on the main stage: Festival visitors can enjoy music by jazz and pop singers and bands as they sample food and wines from around the globe.

The American Express Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival will lift the curtain for American Express Hong Kong Wine and Dine Month.

Throughout November, major dining districts and the local catering sector will roll out a series of themed activities, including the Wan Chai Queen’s Road East Festival, the Lei Yue Mun Seafood Festival & Lei Yue Mun Market, the Lan Kwai Fong Carnival, the Stanley Plaza World of Food and Music, and the Great American BBQ.

In addition, a number of hotels and restaurants will provide diners with special offers, and the catering and travel sectors will organise culinary tours and classes. The Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, will be held during November as well.

The HKTB hopes that all these events will give visitors and local residents a thorough experience of Hong Kong as the Culinary Capital of Asia.

Local promotions with Expedia.com.sg in Singapore

From 8-28 October 2013, two lucky winners stand to get their holiday to Hong Kong fully refunded! Every booking to Hong Kong made during this period gives travellers an automatic entry in the daily draw to have their booking fully refunded to them. In conjunction with the lucky draw, the first 1,000 customers who make a booking to Hong Kong travelling anytime between 31 October 2013 and 3 November 2013 will be able to redeem a free Wine and Dine Festival Bonus Pack.

Specially for Alvinology.com readers:

To allow Singaporeans to have a firsthand experience of the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, HKTB will be providing Alvinology.com readers with the Wine & Dine bonus pack worth HKD100.

 The pack contains:

• Free admission to the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival from 31 October to 3 November 2013
• Two Classic Wine Tokens (valued at HKD15 each)
• Four Tourist Food Tokens (valued at HKD10 each).
• Total value of the Bonus Pack and admission fee is up to HKD100

Note: There is no pre-requisite required to obtain the Bonus Pack! This is for any Singaporeans who happen to be in Hong Kong during the Festival period which is 31 Oct to 3 Nov 2013.

Generous isn’t it? 

Readers just need to visit the Hong Kong Tourism Board Singapore office to collect the Bonus Pack. Last day of collection is on 25 Oct (this Fri). While stocks last. If you are interested to get the package, email me at alvinologist@gmail.com, indicating how many packages you need. I will then put you in touch with the person-in-charge from HKTB.

Have fun in Hong Kong! 🙂